From the Vice-Chancellor
[ UniNews Vol. 13, No. 20
1 - 15 November 2004 ]
A recent four-day visit to Beijing reminded me of the diversity of the Universitys international engagement and the relationships developing across the globe.
With Dr Alan Thomas, the Australian Ambassador to China, I participated in a joint workshop organised by our Australian Centre and the well-established Australian Studies Centre of Peking University. With participation also drawn from other Chinese and Australian universities, the workshop explored the impact of globalisation and multiculturalism from Australian and Chinese perspectives.
At the Chinese Ministry of Health we signed a Memorandum of Understanding between our Centre for International Mental Health, St Vincents Hospital Mental Health Service and Peking Universitys Mental Health Centre. It cements work underway to offer a training program for mental health practitioners in China. China, sadly, is starting to experience the problems seen here the isolation and loneliness of the aged, stress, and worrying trends of suicide among youth.
Julia Fraser from Asialink has been a key coordinator of this activity. She and I were interviewed about this on the English language channel of China Central Television for a current affairs/news program called Dialogue.
Following our already successful relationship with the Chinese Academy of Science we now seek to parallel this with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). A Memorandum of Understanding was signed and Professor David Holm from MIALS is already working with CASS on a project to help preservation of Chinese minority languages.
I made a return visit to the President of Tsinghua University where several of our undergraduate students are presently studying. As the first Chinese university where all students are connected to email and the internet in their dormitories, laboratories and study areas, our students should have no difficulty keeping in touch with home. It was good to meet the senior Tsinghua administrative staff who have since begun a months program here, shadowing their Melbourne counterparts.
I was also struck with the pace of increasing English language competence in Beijing. There is certainly potential for increasing numbers of students coming to the University from mainland China to join the 1700 students, including more than 500 postgraduates, studying here already.
Kwong Lee Dow
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